The alleged mastermind of the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai - in which the Indian city's Chabad center was one of the targets - was ordered released from house arrest by a Pakistani court on Wednesday, Reuters reported.

Chief of the banned outfit Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD), Hafiz Saeed, had been under house arrest since January.

"The government is ordered to release JuD chief Hafiz Saeed if he is not wanted in any other case", they told the lawyers who had made the appeal. But, in October, the government did not extend the notification for their detention under ATA sections and withdrew application pending before the federal review board for their extension.

The court rejected a request by the government to extend his arrest, citing a lack of evidence.

Saeed may walk out free in a couple of days if the government does not detain him in any other case.

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A Pakistani court yesterday ordered the release of one of the alleged masterminds of the 2008 Mumbai attacks which killed more than 160 people, after months of United States pressure on Islamabad over its alleged support for militants.

Responding to a question, the State Department was quick to express its displeasure over the potential release of Saeed from house arrest. On January 31, Saeed and his four aides - Abdullah Ubaid, Malik Zafar Iqbal, Abdul Rehman Abid and Qazi Kashif Hussain.

Despite U.S. sanctions on Saeed, the cleric has been living freely in Pakistan and delivering anti-U.S. speeches.

An official said in a statement, "The government can not afford to set Saeed free in the current circumstance. It can not face global backlash in the event of releasing the JuD chief". Nine of the attackers were killed by police while lone survivor Ajmal Kasab was caught.